KIRKUS REVIEW

Black cat Won Ton’s perfect life
with Boy hits a puppy of a hiccup.

“It’s a fine life, Boy. / Nap, play,
bathe, nap, eat, repeat. / Practice makes purrfect.” Then toys no cat would be
interested in show up, and a mysteriously closed door that was never closed
before hides a nasty surprise: a dog! “Puthimoutputhim /
outputhimoutputhim—wait! / I said him, not me!” Poor Won Ton. The
humans name the puppy Chopstick, but Won Ton guesses his real name is Pest.
Rules are laid down and broken. An altercation over Chopstick’s eating Won
Ton’s food leads to Won Ton’s banishment outside. Won Ton adjusts, but he secretly
enjoys Chopstick’s encounter with a skunk and revels in the superiority of a
self-cleaning cat. One stormy day, though, Won Ton finds puppies make fine
pillows. “Some parts of woof I /
will never understand. But… / practice makes purrfect.” The two snuggle down
with Boy. Wardlaw’s fine feline phrasing in the haiku-related senryu form of
Japanese poetry again pairs neatly with Yelchin’s watercolor-and-pencil
illustrations. Both capture the canine and the feline in this fresh take on the
“new puppy in a cat’s house” tale.

A satisfying companion to Won Ton’s eponymous
first outing (2011). (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)

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